Live: Best Of British – Slimelight, London

BEST OF BRITISH (XP8, Cease2xist, The .Invalid, Digital Deformation) 

Slimelight, London 

28^th September 2013 

Static Distortion Records have slowly been amassing an impressive array of artists on their diverse roster, and what better way to show off the potential of home grown talent than to put on a show at one of the worlds most famous gothic/industrial clubs. After the sad loss of Sheffield's titans Uberbyte, tonight’s new headliners XP8 stepped up, and with the band now based in London, it's safe to say we'll quite happily support them as one of our own.

It's a strange night at Slimelight with a wedding reception closing off a big chunk of the club, the festivities are relegated to the downstairs room. But even thought it is small, it's comfortable and intimate giving the night more of a party-like atmosphere.

The kick off was a little early with opening act Digital Deformation hitting the stage at 7:20pm. Unfortunately this meant your reviewer happened to miss their performance, but trusted colleagues within the audience who did make the opening doors assured that they put on a strong performance.

Luckily though, by the time yours truly had arrived, industrial one-man-band The .Invalid had hit the stage. The lone figure of Seamus Bradd maniacally filled the stage. Unrestrained he repeatedly leapt into the audience and threw himself around like a Scots Iggy Pop as the hard dance beats and grinding synthesizers of his début album, 'The Aesthetics Of Failure', throbbed through the speakers. Despite some shakiness to his voice in places, Bradd carried off his performance on the back of a serious adrenaline rush. While all those present ate it up as he reeled off tracks like 'Cry Wolf' and 'Breaksequence' which inspired some mass sing-a-long moments.

The .Invalid were exhausting to watch, so who knows how then within seconds of his solo set finishing did Bradd have the energy left to launch straight into Cease2xist's equally frantic set. The band continued to build the energy in the room with their searingly hot take on aggrotech. Vicious guitars complimented the hard beats, harsh synths and distorted vocals throughout huge songs like 'Teenage America', 'Living By The Bullet' and 'Occupy Everything' eliciting big reactions from the crowd. The band easily put on a headline-quality performance. It is pretty safe to say, that with albums like 'You Are Expendable' under their belt and high quality live performances such as this in their wake, there is little doubt that Cease2xist are going to be major players in the UK and abroad.

The night's headliners XP8 started off with a little microphone trouble, but ever the consummate professionals they weren't phased in the least. The duo of Marko and Marco have so far this year released one of their strongest albums yet in 'Adrenochrome' and are arguably stronger as a band than ever before, which is evident in their performance. The duo unleash a strong dance-orientated set that gets the audiences feet moving and bodies grooving. New songs sit comfortably the band's vast array of proven live crowd pleaser’s with particularly strong renditions of 'Information' from the latest album, as well as an excellent version of 'Burning Down' taking pride of place in the band's set. The pre-encore gap is cut short due to an impromptu show of appreciation from the crowd as they give birthday boy Marko a round of 'Happy Birthday'. It leaves little doubt that London is very willing to adopt the Italians as their own as they bring the night to a close.

The evening proved to be a strong show of support for not only the up-and-coming talent being championed by the Static Distortion record label. But also the people out there who enjoy electro/industrial music. More shows like this would only serve to strengthen the UK's identity and galvanise support for our bands.

All photography © Imago Mortis Photography - Remember to check out our gallery to see more pictures from the night.

Posted in: best of british,Cease2xist,Digital Deformation,Live,Static Distortion,the .invalid,XP8